Jacker

"Carjacking was a big deal in the early 1990s. Just like Beanie Babies and caucasians with dreadlocks. So it makes sense that in 1993, someone would produce a SOV action-horror movie about the horrors of carjacking. In Jacker, Mike kills people inside of their cars, kind of like the Texarkana Phantom in THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN. Mike doesn't steal the cars. Despite this, characters refer to Mike as 'the car jacker killer.' Doesn't carjacking include jacking cars? I think it does. This means that Jacker is the SOV carjacking slasher without actual carjacking. This oversight is almost as disappointing as finding out that Rob Zombie's dreadlocks aren't real and are, in fact, attached to his cowboy hat.

We start off immediately in the thick of an action scene, where Mike Rivers (played by Phil Herman) murders a man after jacking his car. Then when he arrives home back to his apartment, he does something diabolical to his girlfriend. This is a great intro into the film, massive hook! The visual effects and the 90s musical ensemble is very fitting for its time. Although this film is more than 30 years old, and the sound and camera are pretty much dated, there are some great scenes and images that are very interesting to say the least. Many ghastly horror scenes fill this film with flesh and layering. Mike, the serial killer, people have dubbed the Carjacker, he is an atrocious character with nothing but revenge on his mind. All he wants is to see people suffer. The police are after him, and we are introduced to Detective Jackson (played by Patrick Jackson) the investigating officer.

There's a satirical style filming coming through with the scene at the apartment, as the police are investigating the death of Mike's girlfriend Kate (played by Nancy Feliciano.) We meet Detective Len, forensic photographer Ken, and officer Ben, all played by the same person, who are the Crotch brothers (played by the filmmaker himself, Benjamin Stanski.) Mike is sitting there lying to Jackson about what happened to his girlfriend. He gets away with it and thus begins his killing spree. He is an unstoppable force. No one can get to him. Now he has a new target to his vengeance, Detective Jackson. Mike threatens Jackson and the game begins. His next victims are ordinary people going about their lives in ignorant bliss. After they stop at an ATM machine to get some cash out, the Jacker attacks and murders a couple who are heading out of town to elope. Mike has some maniacal dialogue that proves this man has lost his marbles. Great characterisation of the Jacker. He is not a man anyone would want to cross paths with. Mike is about to have a shower when a news report comes on the TV about his own murders and the victims. Mike is stalking Jackson, because he wants to make him pay. And that is exactly what he does to Jackson's sister, Kris (played by Natalie White.) It is so comical to see the old landline phones, and the portable ones that look like bricks. It makes me thankful we are in the age of advanced technology. Kris is on the phone with her boyfriend James (played by Barry Gains) when Mike arrives and kidnaps her. He is so sick in the mind that he gets Kris to call James (who is in the shower) so that he can hear her being murdered.

A weird scene happens when Detective Ken takes his baby on a walk with him through a sketchy tunnel where he finds the body of Kris. This sets off a chain of events that will surely please all slasher fans out there. Now Jackson has revenge on his mind. Nice change up of events to add layering and texture to the storyline and the overall plot. He pulls out the old brick phone and reports finding the body to HQ. I like the reference to Falcon Productions, considering this is produced by Falcon Video LTD. We are then in the office with the chief (played by Frank Kiesling) where Jackson threatens to hunt down and kill the person who murdered his sister. He is informed that the Jacker did it, and we know this because it is revealed that he left his name carved into her chest. Now the pace and story hits a whole new level. Mike calls James and rubs it in his face. Then, he does something that made my stomach turn when he sits down to eat cereal. This goes to show how far gone this monster is.

The undercover scene turns into an absolute mess. The wrong guy is subjected to a beating. Jackson thought it was the Jacker. Meanwhile as this is all going on, Mike takes another victim. The chief of police suspends Jackson for beating up a civilian. Jackson visits James who is completely shattered after the murder of his girlfriend Kris, and together they devise a plan to catch the Jacker. Meanwhile, Mike has an unexpected visit from his neighbour Gloria (played by Debbie D) who needs some shampoo, though we soon learn she might want something else. Unfortunately, she soon meets her fate at the hands of her serial murdering neighbour Mike. Right here is a moment when he thinks he might be caught by leaving finger prints behind on the bottle of shampoo, when he should be trying to erase the rest of his finger prints off the door knobs and any surfaces he has touched. I feel he is now coming undone and making stupid mistakes. It's good to show these instances as it allows us to see how the antagonist character reacts to a problem he will have to solve. Now Jackson and James are heading to the crime scene, where Gloria's dead body has been found. It appears that an accident happened when Gloria and Mike were in the shower together, that according to Mike, is the reason Gloria met her demise. Jackson of course doesn't believe a word he says. We change to another scene, with Mike having carjacked again, this time the victim fights back. I enjoyed this scene as it shows good development in the story arc. It looks like the Jacker is enjoying the challenge, and this adds to his characterisation in an excellent way.

We find out there are some boundaries he won't cross, which is interesting considering he is a psychopath. We see this when he targets a priest. It's great to show these sorts of instances where we can see pieces of his personality come through in the film. His next victim is at a carpark at night, and of course it doesn't go well for the man. Detective Floyd (played by Bryant Sohl) decides to pay Mike's mother a visit. Now we have Floyd and Jackson hunting down this appalling excuse for a human being. It is revealed here some interesting facts about Mike, and that even his own mother is terrified of her son and what he is capable of. For example: he laughed at his father's funeral, while everyone else was crying! Goes to show the disposition of his character from an early age. I now believe he had this desire for killing early on in his life: Some people are just born evil. In another scene, Mike is enjoying watching the scene of a car that has been crumpled by a large piece of metal. It adds some mystery as we wonder if he was the cause of the car crash. An interesting game of cat and mouse happens, Mike is following Jackson, and Mike is being followed by Floyd. Floyd manages to catch up with Mike in an underground carparking building, it does not end well for the detective. James is off on his own mission when he chases down who he thinks is the Jacker who murdered his girlfriend Kris. He finds out from the young men who just jacked a car, that they know the Jacker is a white man.

Mike follows James home. He does something to Jackson's car, that ends in a tragedy I didn't see coming. Jackson is on the landline phone talking to the chief of police, when an explosion outside stops him in his tracks. I like that all we see is the image of a brick phone burning, and some car debris to show the destruction. There is a blink or you will miss it signs of meta-cinema happening with James who is supposed to be dead, however his foot moves when Jackson leans on him, and he has a little giggle on his lips, as Jackson accidentally or deliberately tickles James. Excellent! Now the chase is on again as we near the end of the film. The ending sequence is well done. It's comical that Jackson steals a skateboard to chase down Mike the Jacker. When he does catch up with Mike eventually, a great scene plays out. Lets just say, Mike has it coming to him, and Jackson is beyond anger and rationale. Mike is having the time of his life as he is being pursued by Jackson. An excellent fight scene takes place between Jackson and Mike. There is a cliffhanger to end the film, and it's a good one! Leading us into the next film in this series, Jacker 2. Great way to end the film.

Overall, this is a great watch. I really enjoyed the many different settings and locational changes. Brilliant! There are some scenes of meta-cinema, where we can see the camera with raindrops on it, and hear the cameraman walk. This is a shot on video (SOV) type filming, which really works well with this type of film. The music is well done and enhances the scenes, and increases as the action happens. Special effects are really good, no CGI or green screens; I like that in this era they were still using physical props, and what looks like real blood. The sound effects of the shoot out scenes are excellent. The acting is what I would have expected in this 90s film, overexaggerated and dramatic. You can see the entire crew and cast worked hard to turn this into the film it is.